Stay With Me
by Benthrew
Summary: Shayley was a survivor trying to find a reason to live. Having lost everything to the epidemic, she was about to give everything up when she met Clementine. Eventually the both of them encountered another group and that was when things got.. complicated. (LukexOC)


A sharp pain stabbed her abdomen as her hunger cried for attention. It did not help when she was soaking wet, the cold biting into her bones, as she trudged her way through uncharted territory.

Clementine was scared.

She was all by herself in the middle of nowhere with no final destination. At the rate she was going, there was a high chance of her walking in circles that would eventually lead to her impending death. But she knew better than to give into fear. She had to keep marching on, in hopes to find some refuge from the unforgiving woods.

With a sigh, she continued following the marked trail that was once used by campers. The tall trees that loomed over her cast shadows that merged with the undergrowth, forming scary shapes that were like fingers trying to grab her ankles if she took one wrong step. The forest was silent. She could even hear her heart thumping fast in her chest.

_Snap._

Clementine stopped and whipped her head towards the direction of the sound. She could feel a whimper trying to fight its way out of her constricted throat but refused to give in to it. It was probably nothing that she had not encountered before, she reasoned with herself, as she crept towards its origin. Her lungs burned as she held her breath.

The sudden burst of sunlight blinded her eyes and she had to raise her hand to shield them as she broke into a clearing. It took a few moments for her fuzzy vision to refocus. When she regained her ability to see, she immediately registered the abandoned tents and a broken down van in the vicinity and realized that she had stumbled upon an old campsite.

She was about to rejoice at the stroke of good luck, after the long string of bad ones, but knew it was too early to do so. In a world where the dead came back to life, there was no telling what could happen even when things seem innocuous enough. Clementine was about to enter the threshold when the sound of snapping twigs rang out throughout the trees once more and she turned around to see a brown dog looking at her curiously.

'Oh. Hello there,' she whispered to it.

It had its ears pinned towards its head, that was slightly lowered, while its tail wagged furiously. Clementine could see the wariness in its eyes and held out a hand for it to sniff. It has been so long since she last seen another living being that she was desperate for his acceptance but knew she had to take it slow.

'It's okay, boy. I'm not here to hurt you.'

The dog whimpered but went closer to her nonetheless, nudging his nose against her fingers before welcoming them with a slobbery lick. She giggled. Clementine twisted the blue collar around its neck to find out that it was named Sam.

'Nice to meet you, Sam. I'm Clementine,' she said cheerily, 'I'm glad to have met you. It is not fun being all by yourself.'

Sam looked at her with a lopsided grin.

He gave out a loud bark before making its way towards the campsite, stopping once to make sure Clementine was following him, before leading her towards the abandoned van. Clementine immediately scanned the area for telltale signs of danger. How she wished she had a weapon with her right now. If anything were to happen right then, there was nothing she could use to defend herself with.

She peered into the van, hoping that she could find something to serve as a weapon. She was rummaging through the boxes when she noticed that a shadow had enveloped her surroundings. Fear shot up her spine in a cold flash and she turned around to see a teenage girl standing behind her. She exclaimed in surprise and found herself trapped between the van and the girl whose hands immediately shifted to her hips.

Clementine's eyes fell upon the hunting knife that the other girl was holding on to.

She knew she had no chance of getting out of this unscathed.

'W-who are you?' she stammered, 'H-how did you get here?'

'It's okay,' Clementine replied calmly as she raised both her hands, 'My name is Clementine and I was lost in the woods. I came across this clearing accidentally. And I met Sam. I promise I'm not here to hurt you.'

The silence that fell between them pierced their ears. Clementine could see the contemplation raging behind her stormy grays; one on hand, the teenager knew that a little girl like her would not be capable of hurting someone but then again nothing was impossible in their current world. But there was something about that little girl that put her at ease so she held down her defenses.

'You better not do anything funny.'

She prodded her knife against Clementine's chest with each word, clearly trying to make her point. It was more of a reminder than a threat judging by the wavering of her voice. The teenager did not want to hurt her if she could help it.

'I won't.'

The redheaded teenager eyed her carefully before sliding her weapon back into its holster around her hip. Sam gave out a happy bark and ran towards the girl and towards her knees, almost making her lose balance as she bent down and pulled him into a hug. She tried to push the dog away but there was no stopping his storm of adoring licks to her face.

When Sam finally got enough of affection and walked away, the girl stood up and offered a hand towards Clementine.

'I'm Lee.'


End file.
